“Maia’s on shift,” I add.
“I guess I’ll get it, you know, in case it’s a murderer, and I have to fight them off with my amazing muscles.”
“Oh yeah, because a murderer would ring the doorbell.” Declan flips her the bird as he heads to the door.
“Mom?” This causes Brinley to stand and me to follow.
“I stopped by Brinley’s first, but she wasn’t there, so I was hoping that you were home.”
“She’s here,” he says, stepping back and allowing his mom to walk inside.
Now I see where they get their looks. They’re both clones of their mom, but obviously, Declan’s features are a little more masculine.
“What are you doing here?” He shuts the door behind her. “I don’t have a game today.”
“I left your father.” The silence is deafening, and I can tell by his expression that Declan wants to let out a sigh of relief but holds back because he’s not sure how Brinley will react.
“What?” she wonders, walking toward her mom. “When?”
“Later than I should’ve,” she replies. “Much later.”
“It’s about damn time.” The words fill the air, and my eyes go wide until I realize who they’re coming from.
“What?” Declan questions, looking over at Brinley.
“You’ve always deserved better than him, Mom. I’m just sorry you felt like you had to stick it out for us.”
“What finally opened your eyes?”
“I caught him with another woman.” I glance over at Declan because, according to him, his mom saw his dad with another woman last summer. What’s changed since?
“He cheated on you?” she asks.
She nods. “The first time I forgave him. He promised me it’d stop, and we’d try fixing what was broken between us. I found him in our bed with a different woman a few days ago. He never wanted to fix us; he wanted to keep his perfect image.”
Declan wraps his arms around Brinley and his mom. It’s almost like the tension fades from his face, the tension he probably didn’t even realize he was holding on to.
“You guys are all I need. I’m sorry it took so long for me to realize that.”
“It’s not your fault, Mom.”
Her eyes catch mine, and her smile grows. She shimmies out of the hug and walks toward me, reaching for my hands.
“You must be Ember.” She squeezes my hands.
“It’s nice to meet you, Mrs. Sanderson.”
“The pleasure is mine. You’re absolutely beautiful, and I can’t thank you enough for how happy you make my son. For how much you love him.”
“Well, he makes loving him easy. And he makes me just as happy, so we’re both pretty lucky.”
“I think this is cause for celebration.” She pulls me into a motherly hug, one full of love and comfort. One I’ve never experienced.
“We’re going for dinner.” She nudges us toward the door. “My treat.”
forty
Declan
